Budget blues no more

In our current economic climate, members of the City Council must make difficult decisions as they develop and approve the city budget.

This budget season, District 26 City Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer has once again shown himself to be a tireless advocate for the needs of our community.

Thanks to Van Bramer, Speaker Quinn and other members of the City Council, all 10 after-school programs in the district will be able to continue providing critically important services to children and working parents. Were it not for the work of Van Bramer, many of these programs would have been forced to close. He has ensured that over 1,700 students will have a structured place to go after school where they can discover and develop their talents and build upon school-day learning.

Additionally, the councilmember successfully advocated to restore funding to senior centers, case management services, libraries, and a myriad of other human services and arts programs in Queens.

On behalf of Sunnyside Community Services and the thousands of people we serve, I salute Van Bramer and his excellent staff for the work they’ve done on behalf of the community.